Upgrades
by The Electric Russian
Summary: After meeting the X-Men, Neo is confronted with perils not even The One can handle alone. Meanwhile, tensions rise between two female rivals... Matrix-X-Men Cossover Part of a trilogy Please Review
1. Unsettling

Hello again. I have finally took it upon myself to try and write the next adventure in the Matrix/X-Men universe. As you know, this story is called "Upgrades..." and, also as you may know, I am extremely paranoid about updating, after my story "Humanity's Last Hope" was deleted for unknown reasons (probably because someone didn't like it...) Because of this reason, updates will be scant. As long as this in known, I hope there will be no miscommunication in the reviews.  
  
On that happy note, I bring you to...  
  
*wait for it...*  
  
The real world...  
  
But wait! There's more! Last time, I forgot to give you, 'The Code'. This is how I write, and applies to all my stories from here on out.  
  
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Entering/ exiting a dream sequence  
  
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Entering/ exiting a chapter  
  
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Entering/ exiting a memory  
  
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Change of scenes  
  
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And now, for the story.  
  
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Upgrades  
  
Chapter 1  
  
Unsettling  
  
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They were falling. Both of them. And all he could do was watch. The two figures plummeted through the air, both completely helpless. Neo stood, and watched in horror as the two figures grew closer and closer to the ground.  
  
A bell could be heard in the distance. It grew louder, and faster with every passing second...  
  
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Neo cursed under his breath at the stupid clock. Trinity had got it for him as a gift, but now Neo wished she hadn't. The damn thing was louder than Zion's alarms, and it woke him up from his dreams, which he had learned to pay special attention to.  
  
He sat up in bed, and looked around. Everything seemed to be all right. Everything was in its place. All except for one thing, which Neo had remembered specifically. He had placed a tiny hair at the top of the door, to ensure that no one would open it without his knowing. The hair was now on the ground. 'Now I'm really paranoid; looking on the ground for hairs.' He thought, chuckling awkwardly to himself. Deep down, he knew that paranoia was the only way to ensure survival. Especially after the Cipher incident...  
  
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All of them were running. Switch, Apoc, Trinity, and Neo. They had been sent to a pay-phone at Franklin and Erie. The burst through to door leading to the small abandoned warehouse on the street.  
  
Neo looked around and saw a phone on countertop. It began to ring. He picked it up, but the only sound on the line was a long drone. He handed the phone to Trinity, who put the phone back on the receiver. She then withdrew her cellular phone from her pocket and tried to speak into it, but another voice beat her to it.  
  
The voice on the other end said, "Hello, Trinity."  
  
"Cipher? Where's Tank?"  
  
"You know, for a long time, I thought I was in love with you. I used to dream about you. You're a beautiful woman, Trinity. Too bad things had to turn out this way."  
  
Trinity covered her mouth with her free hand. She whispered, "You killed them."  
  
Apoc looked up. "What?"  
  
Switch looked up also. "Oh god..."  
  
Cipher spoke again. "I'm tired, Trinity. I tired of this war. I'm tired of fighting. I'm tired of this ship, of being cold, eating the same goddamn goop everyday. But most of all, I'm tired of that jack-off and all of his bullshit!" Inside the Nebuchadnezzar, Cipher jumped up and sat on top of Morpheus, and looked at his unconscious face. "Surprise ass-hole! I bet you never saw this coming, did you? God, I wish I could be there, when they break ya. I wish I could walk in just when it happens. So right then, you'd know it was me."  
  
Trinity's eyes grew wide. "You gave him Morpheus..."  
  
"He lied to us, Trinity! He tricked us! If you'da told us the truth, we woulda told you to shove that red pill right up your ass!"  
  
Trinity was practically screaming into the cell phone. "That's not true, Cipher! He set us FREE!"  
  
"Free? You call this free? All I do is what he tells me to do. If I had to choose between that and the Matrix, I choose the Matrix." Cipher got off of Morpheus and began to walk around the ship, stepping over a smoldering Dozer as he went.  
  
Trinity spoke again, this time more diplomatic than before. "Cipher, the Matrix isn't real."  
  
"I disagree, Trinity. I think the Matrix can be more real than this world. All I do is pull the plug here. But there, you have to watch Apoc die."  
  
Apoc gave Trinity one last, longing glance. "Trinity..."  
  
Switch raced over to Apoc. "No!"  
  
Apoc's eyes rolled back as he slumped over, dead.  
  
Cipher spoke again, "Welcome to the real world, huh babe?"  
  
"But you're out, Cipher! You cant go back in!"  
  
"Oh, no. That's what you think. They're going to reinsert my body. I go back to sleep, and when I wake up, I won't remember a goddamn thing. By the way, if you have anything terribly important to say to Switch, I suggest you say it now."  
  
Trinity's eyes became moist. "No. Please don't..."  
  
Switch looked from her kneeling position on the floor, and whispered, "Not like this," before falling on her back.  
  
"Too late." Cipher said slowly.  
  
"Goddamn you, Cipher!" Screamed Trinity.  
  
"Don't hate me, Trinity. I'm just a messenger, and right now I'm going to prove it to you." He walked over to Neo's station, and looked at the 'sleeping' Neo.  
  
"If Morpheus was right, then there's no way I can pull this plug. I mean if Neo's the one, then there'd have to be some kind of a miracle to stop me. Right? I mean how can he be the one if he's dead? You never did answer me before. If you bought into Morpheus' bullshit -come on-all I want is a little yes or no. Look into his eyes, those big pretty eyes and tell me. Yes or no."  
  
Trinity uttered a small "Yes..."  
  
Aboard the Nebuchadnezzar, Tank picked up the gun that had killed his brother.  
  
"No. I don't believe it!" Screamed Cipher, eyeing the huge laser gun.  
  
"Believe it or not, you piece of shit, you're still gunna burn!" Tank said as he pulled the trigger, sending a huge bolt of electricity barreling straight toward Cipher.  
  
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Neo shuddered at the memory. 'It's all in the past', he told himself over and over as he exited the small room.  
  
'Maybe it IS just excessive paranoia...' thought Neo as he walked down the hall. He strode past Morpheus's room, and stopped. He peeked inside, but Morpheus wasn't there. "That's weird..." Said Neo to himself, as he closed the door. Neo had set his clock for 4:00 in the morning, and it was odd that Morpheus wasn't in bed at that time.  
  
Suspicions arose in Neo's mind. 'Was it him who was in my room?' he thought, but quickly discarded it. 'Why would Morpheus want to come in my room? Besides, it was probably just the wind that knocked the hair off.'  
  
After thinking for awhile, he strode off to the kitchen, where he ate 'the same goddamn goop everyday', and happily ate, feeling a little better.  
  
And less paranoid.  
  
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Rogue sat alone in her room, gazing at the spoon Neo had told her to keep. A stack of videos cluttered her desk, all labeled 'DANGER ROOM SURVALLENCE VIDEO', or 'ROOM 13 SURVALLENCE VIDEO'. Room 13. Neo's room. Rogue went there often, even though it was empty. She remembered sitting in the chair opposite the bed. She remembered gazing at Neo from the chair, for hours.  
  
All in all, she felt Neo had every right to be paranoid.  
  
She had no idea.  
  
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REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW!  
  
*a record with a careful scrape into it is seen playing over and over again, atop Electric Russian's desk*  
  
Goodnight.  
  
PS: Those faithful to me, write me at thrsnospn@hotmail.com to participate in something special 


	2. Pseudonyms

I am truly, deeply sorry for not updating. I was just having a fit about the idiosyncratic behavior of the FF.net staff. Cant stand 'em.

I would like to especially thank Aslyin for opening my eyes to the reality (no pun intended) of writing.

Thank you.

And without further adieu, I bring you,

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Upgrades

Chapter 2

Pseudonyms

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Trinity rolled over in her bed, restless, as she had been doing for the past hour or so. She'd been dwelling on the scene at that 'mansion', when they liberated Neo. The mansion full of the matrix's weirdest oddities. She never thought that Neo would become friends with a person still into the matrix. It wasn't like they could just sit down for a cup of tea, being on the worlds most wanted list.

Still, she was worried about that girl she'd seen Neo talking to. She was a very attractive girl, and Trinity knew it. And Trinity hated her for it.

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While eating his soup, Neo began to think about his exploits over the past few days. He though about his brief stint as an honorary "X-Man", and he thought about all his old friends, and some of his enemies, like the white-hared kid that reminded Neo of a hyperactive jackrabbit on crack. But most of all, he thought about Rogue. Every time he closed his eyes, he could see Rogue. The more he though, however, the more that face looked like Trinity.

He sighed, defeated. It had to be one of the biggest decisions of his life. At least, unplugged. He stood up, not wanting to take another spoon full of the vitamin-enriched goop, and quietly walked to the control deck. He found Link hovering over one of the 7 computers that displayed Matrix code. Neo notice that he was sweating.

"Link? Is everything okay?", Neo said, fearing the worst. Thinking that Link hadn't heard him, Neo was about to ask again, when he got a small response.

"Its Morpheus. The bag you guys got from the post office a few days ago was the wrong one. He went in to get the real one, but the power was out, so I had to jack him in from the mansion place of yours. I thought it was safe, but as soon as I jacked him in, I saw 3 of the same agent surrounding the place. He was at the door. I tried to call, but they shot him with some kind of frequency distortion device, and now I cant get a lock on him. The agents are closing in on your little hangout now."

"Damnit, Link, why didn't you wake me up sooner?" Neo practically ran to his 'dentist chair' as he liked to call it, and said, "Jack me in. Now, Link, we don't have that much time."

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10 minutes earlier, inside the Matrix

"So, like, why does everyone suddenly have fake names?" Kitty asked the rest of the passengers in the car.

Scott spoke up, "Pseudonyms, Kitty. They're called Pseudonyms."

"Whatever," Kitty said, impatiently, "the question is why everyone suddenly has one. Think about it. That Neo guy, for instance. I'm sure his parents didn't sit down one day and say, 'hey, lets name our son Neo. Aheheheheh'. No, it didn't happen like that. Same thing with Rogue. Mystique was watching some war movie, and said, 'Like, I'm gunna name my daughter Rogue, just because it sounds gothic and cool, and because the people flying the planes say it all the time.'"

"Kitty, you shouldn't talk about Rogue that way. She's been through a lot. Plus, she's sick. If anything, you should try to be really nice to her." Jean said, her sensitive side showing, as always.

"And vhere did the whole 'Nightcrawler' thing come in? Who decided to name me after a vorm? I bet it was you, Scott." Kurt said in a teasingly accusing tone.

Scott pulled into the school, and said, "Okay, everybody out. I'll be back here at 3:00. Don't be late." Kurt and Kitty, and Amara piled out of the car. Grabbing their backpacks, they began to run just as the first bell rang.

Scott pulled out of the parking lot and began to drive toward the mansion. He froze, however, when he heard the dreaded alarm in the glove compartment. He stepped on the accelerator, and drove home as fast as he could.

* * *

And expect another chapter in about 4 days. Sorry, but its this crappy schedule thing I have going. Parents, courts, judges, attorneys.

AAAAaaannnyways, please review. I understand that you may have clicked on this page, but who can know for sure that it was you? Hmmn? How do I know that you liked the story, or if you thought in needed improving? Just tell me. It takes only a few seconds, but the results last a lifetime.

Thank you, 

Yuri (Aheheheheh, another pseudonym…)

PS: Be sure to check out my account on FictionPress.com, Hawley Griffin.

http:www.fictionpress.com/hawleygriffin


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